Horseshoe pitching is a well known recreational activity in which people of all ages can participate. The game involves pitching a metal horseshoe weighing less than 25 pounds a distance of 40 feet toward a peg centered in a clay pit termed a horseshoe court. The object of the game is to ring the peg with the horseshoe and failing that, to pitch the horseshoe as close as possible to the peg, the winner of the game being the competitor who succeeds in pitching the most ringers.
The natural clay used in the horseshoe court to absorb the energy of the thrown horseshoe has several disadvantages. One of these is that the clay often fragments upon impact of the horseshoe resulting in a dirty horseshoe, arena and participants. This means that as a recreational activity horseshoe pitching is effectively restricted to open spaces outdoors, clay scattered in all directions not being desirable indoors or in confined areas such as the deck of an ocean-going liner. Another disadvantage is that as horseshoe pitching is practiced primarily in the warm climates of the Midwest and California, the clay loses its moisture content and becomes harder, thereby losing its capacity to absorb energy. Consequently, it would be beneficial if the natural clay was replaced with a synthetic material that is shock absorbing, is cohesive and does not adhere to metal; properties that do not change on exposure to the atmosphere over a period of time.